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George Clooney doesn’t regret his decision to publicly plead for former president Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
Clooney, 64, believed Democrats “had a chance” at winning the election, but noted a glaring “mistake” was tossing former vice president Kamala Harris into the race.
Following Biden’s devastating debate performance against Trump in June 2024, the “ER” actor called for Biden to voluntarily step aside for a better, younger candidate in a guest essay penned for The New York Times.
During a sit-down with Seth Doane on CBS’ “Sunday Morning,” Clooney didn’t hesitate to say “yes” when asked if he would once again risk expressing himself in a political forum.
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George Clooney doesn’t regret his 2024 op-ed calling for Joe Biden to step down from the presidential race amid controversy over Biden’s declining health and debate performance. (Getty Images)
“We had a chance. I wanted there to be – as I wrote in the op-ed – a primary,” Clooney said. “Let’s battle test this quickly and get it up and going.
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“I think the mistake with it being Kamala is that she had to run against her own record, and it’s very hard to do if the point of running is to say ‘I’m not that person.’ It’s hard to do.”
He added, “She was given a very tough task. I think it was a mistake, honestly, but we are where we are. We were going to lose more house seats, they say. I don’t know. To not do it would be to say I’m not going to tell the truth.”
George Clooney wanted a primary for Democrats to choose their presidential candidate in 2024. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
In July 2024, Clooney noted that he couldn’t recognize the former president anymore, and urged fellow Democrats to speak up and out against handing Biden the Democratic ticket to run for a second term.
“This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president,” Clooney wrote.
“Democrats have more to lose than the White House; they are at risk of losing down-ballot races with Biden as the nominee, he argued. “This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.”
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The actor joined a list of Hollywood elites and megadonors who turned on Biden following the presidential debate, where his at-times confused performance alarmed supporters. Members of Biden’s party, political allies and liberal media figures also pressured Biden to drop out of the race and warned he would not be able to beat then-former President Trump.
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Biden withdrew from the race two weeks later on July 21, 2024, and was replaced on the Democratic ticket by Harris.
After the op-ed published, Hunter Biden accused the “Ocean’s 11” star of turning on his father, and helping lead the charge to oust the 46th president.
“I love George Clooney’s movies, but I don’t really give a s— what he thinks about who should be the nominee for the Democratic Party,” Hunter said on the “At Our Table” podcast.
Two weeks after he pleaded for Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 elections, the former president withdrew his bid for the Democratic ticket. (Rodin Eckenroth)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped up as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election after former President Joe Biden withdrew his bid. (AP/Ross D. Franklin)
“I was about to say I really like George Clooney as an actor, but the truth of the matter is, the truth is, I’ll be honest, I really don’t like George Clooney as an actor or as a person.”
He claimed on a “Channel 5” podcast episode that former President Barack Obama gave “the blessing” for Clooney to speak out.
“F— him! F— him and f— everybody around him,” Hunter said bluntly. “I don’t have to be f—ing nice. No. 1, I agree with Quentin Tarantino. George Clooney is not a f—ing actor. He is a f—ing, I don’t know what he is. He’s a brand.”
Clooney claimed Hunter’s reaction wasn’t truthful, but he hesitated from engaging with the president’s son.
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“I could spend a lot of time debunking many of the things he said because many of the things he said were just outright lies,” Clooney said. “Obama didn’t put me up to it, it wasn’t my fundraiser – it was my fundraiser … all the things. But the reality is, I don’t think looking backwards like that is helpful to anyone, particularly to him.
Hunter Biden accused George Clooney of leading the charge to oust his father from the 2024 presidential race. (Getty Images)
“I don’t think it’s helpful for the Democratic party, and so I’m just going to wish him well on his ongoing recovery and hope he does well and just leave it at that. I have many personal opinions on that, but I don’t find it to be helpful to have a public spat with him.”
In April, Clooney spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper about writing the op-ed, saying it was his “civic duty.”
“It was a civic duty because I found that people on my side of the street — you know, I’m a Democrat in Kentucky, so I get it. When I saw people on my side of the street not telling the truth, I thought that was time to… some people [are mad], sure. That’s OK, you know. Listen, the idea of freedom of speech is you can’t demand freedom of speech and then say, ‘But don’t say bad things about me,‘” Clooney said.
Representatives for Clooney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.